Top 8 - Songs From Detroit - 3/27/13

Hi there. Tonight is Motor City Week and we see several lines about how Motown being innovators, visionaries and most of all a dream of having great music which was delivered by several long ago. Along with Jimmy Iovine we once again have Smokey Robinson to mentor our contestants. I was glad of this because Smokey has proved in the past to be a great mentor. He was very insightful this time around also.

After welcoming our judges, Ryan Seacrest and our top eight we quickly get down to business. Here goes:

First up is Candice Glover who does her own version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by the late, great Marvin Gaye. I loved her bluesy take and the sax and guitar were a special bonus I think on this number. Keith Urban says she raised the bar and had great control. Nicki Minaj says Candice's eyes were alive (jeesh this woman is a joke) but does add it was exciting. Randy Jackson calls it amazing while Mariah Carey loves the soulful R&B. Excellent were her final word and I could not agree more. My grade: A+

Guess tonight we will also be seeing group numbers. Up first is the two country girls Janelle Arthur and Kree Harrison. Their song is the 1989 Madonna hit "Like A Prayer". I thought their voices blended nicely and the choir back-up was a plus. Overall though I thought they sort of played it safe with the way they did the number. Nicki, the rude biotch points out that Kree out-shined Janelle. Randy says Janelle's pitch was off. Mariah is kind and feels they had a sisterhood moment. Keith liked the fact they had each other's back. My grade: B

What a big improvement Lazaro Arbos shows this week doing the Stevie Wonder hit "For Once In My Life". With piano and violins to back him up he shows more confidence and I thought the vocal was quite good. Keith for some reason does not feel it rhythmically but felt the vocal was better. Nicki says he gave her what she needed tonight. Randy says not pitch perfect but far better than last week. Mariah does say she heard the pitch problems as well but feels like he is back in the game. My grade: B+

This time around I did hear some off-notes from Janelle Arthur as she sang "Keep Me Hanging On" by The Supremes. She played her guitar and sort of made it her own however. Overall a fair job in my opinion. Keith loved the arrangement and calls it beautiful. Nicki likes her playing guitar but in reality did not like it that much. Randy is on the other side and calls it incredible, he loved it. Mariah feels this was Janelle at her finest. My grade: B

:lol!:Oh no, Devin Velez is doing "The Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson. How could anyone ever top Adam Lambert and Smokey himself with this song. Devin gives it a go but I felt his high notes were sort of rough. I was surprised that all the judges liked this. Keith felt Devin had several relaxing moments. Nicki calls it amazing. Randy says this is the best he has heard from Devin in weeks. Mariah flat out says she loved it. My grade: B-

I honestly still can not figure out why these judges like Burnell Taylor. His choice of song is "My Cherie Amour" by Stevie Wonder. I felt he was totally dis-connected from the lyrics throughout plus his off-notes were so clear. The only part of the song I liked was when he went into his lower register. The judges however are loving it as each compliments him. Oh brother, should I get my ears checked I wonder? My grade: C-

Up next is a trio number which consists of Angie Miller, Amber Holcomb and Candice Glover. They are singing The Supremes song "I'm Going To Make You Love Me". Overall I thought this was okay but I was not wowed like the judges were who give them a standing ovation. Mariah is the only one to speak and calls it A+ amazing. I would not go that far, sorry. My grade: B

Angie Miller follows her trio number with the Smokey and The Miracles classic "Shop Around". She tries to give it a rock vibe but sadly a lot of off-pitch notes happened as she sang. Here high note was good however. Keith mentions the sharp notes as well and felt the melody pulled her down. Nicki says this was a different side of Angie that did not work. Randy calls it not great. Mariah adds it was not her best. My grade: C

Amber Holcomb is singing the song "Lately" by Stevie Wonder. I honestly do not like this song even though I am a Stevie fan. Amber does fairly well with the number and I thought she looked amazing. The judges give her a standing ovation which has me perplexed once again. It was good but not great in my opinion. Keith calls it the right song and it was beautiful. Nicki feels it was out of the world. Randy calls it the best vocal of night. Mariah says it was a tour de force but adds some blipped words since no one seemed to know what tour de force means. My grade: B

Oh what a mess our last three guys of the season make of the song "I Can't Help Myself" by The Four Tops. Each sounded off with Lazaro forgetting the words for his solo part. Devin was the only one who sounded the most decent to my ears. However I did not like how Burnell and Devin basically threw Lazaro under the bus to make themselves look better. Nicki is the only one to speak and she basically says they were terrible and screams at them to get off the stage. What on earth is the matter with this bitch? She is really destroying this show. My grade: D-

Last to sing is Kree Harrison who sings the Aretha Franklin song "Don't Play That Song". A bad choice I think since no one seems to remember this song. She sang well but I was bored with her performance overall. Keith however liked her take of a bluesy, souful country vibe. Nicki calls her the Queen. Randy is honest and says this was not the song for Kree. Mariah commends her for doing this song. Of all the great Aretha songs I think Kree made a mistake with this one. My grade: B

Well another night of performances have come and gone. I actually did vote for Candice Glover who was the best of the night in my opinion. In my bottom three are Burnell Taylor, Devin Taylor and Angie Miller. I somehow doubt this will be the line-up but regardless these are my thoughts. I would honestly like to see Burnell gone.

Our guests for the results show are One Republic, Katharine McPhee, Colton Dixon. Keith Urban will also be singing. I will be back later with the re-cap. Until then, take care all and have a great day!

My jaw dropped when the judges commended Burrell on his performance. WTH??? It was the worst of the night in my opinion. I agree with the judges about Amber. Although it wasn't a great performance it was one of the best (if not the best) performance of the night.The girls group song was outstanding, the boys...not so much. I agree with you Crystal, Devin is the only one who sounded descent. Overall, for my first time watching almost the entire night....again, wasn't thrilled by any of it.

Thanks for responding Deni. By the way, I am giving my thoughts on The Voice in the "anything chat" section. I feel the talent that has been shown so far on that show is really good. Also I am digging Usher and Shakira being the new judges. If you get a chance, go to that section and let me know what you think.